Ancestors

In 1910, the federal government evicted eleven indigenous families from their homesteads in what is now known as Jasper National Park, on the pretense that they and their wilderness based homes were in the way of progress. With no recourse but to comply, they attempted to relocate north of the newly designated park, but the provincial government on that frontier was just as unwelcoming.

Eventually, they were allowed to resettle, but at significant human cost. One generation later, on September 13 1939 at the new moon, three of the affected families set out to return to their ancestral homeland where their ancestors had lived for thousands of years. The journey takes them deep into the mountains to the Sacred Place in search of answers to past injustice.

It is a quest for meaning that spans countless generations and vast periods of time, and only the Great Spirit can truly reveal the hidden meanings. Through the lens of the present, they explore underground caves and remote alpine valleys by day, while the grandparents share ancient stories of adventure and inspiration around the campfire each evening. The younger participants have many questions about the past and future, but what unfolds by the next full moon far surpasses anyone's imagination!